Bend Memorial Clinic (BMC) recently began a second round of enrollment for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) demonstration project involving the Health Buddy® System from Robert Bosch Healthcare. The innovative Health Buddy Program is a physician-led model of care that uses home health monitoring technology for patients who are struggling with severe chronic illness – allowing them to live healthier, happier, longer lives and reduce Medicare spending by preventing hospitalizations.

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The Health Buddy Program is unique because of its focus on the Health Buddy appliance – a telemonitoring device that connects patients in their homes to their healthcare providers. What sets the Health Buddy System apart from other remote telemonitoring systems is its ability to not only communicate patient symptoms and health status data, but also to facilitate patient education about chronic conditions and encourage medication and lifestyle compliance.

In 2005, CMS selected several organizations including the American Medical Group Association, BMC and the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center in Washington. The medical groups implemented this preventive care management program for up to 1,600 total Medicare beneficiaries with congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or diabetes. BMC enrolled over 300 patients in the Health Buddy Program.

Patients will use the Health Buddy appliance in their homes for a daily interactive session that asks questions about the patient’s condition and vital signs, and provides coaching and information about preventive health behaviors. The patient answers by simply pressing a button on the appliance. BMC doctors and care managers receive the patient’s answers and vital signs through a secure website and are able to spot problems and intervene early, before patients get so sick that they need to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized.

BMC is seeking patients for enrollment in the Health Buddy Program. The Research Department is looking for Medicare patients who have experienced the following chronic illnesses: asthma, cancer, congestive heart failure, hypertension, heart disease, obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or diabetes. To learn more about the program, contact Molly Johnson, Care Manager at 541.322.3508.

About Bend Memorial Clinic
Bend Memorial Clinic includes over 80 providers representing 15 branches of medicine and 30 service specialties. It is the largest multi-specialty group east of the Cascades and functions as a comprehensive referral center for physicians and communities throughout the state. The Clinic has provided primary and specialty care since 1946.

About the Bosch Group
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 282,000 associates generated sales of 45 billion euros (over $63 billion) in fiscal 2008. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 300 subsidiaries and regional companies in roughly 50 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Each year, Bosch spends more than 3 billion euros for research and development, and applies for over 3,000 patents worldwide. The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering."

In North America, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial automation and mobile products, power tools and accessories, security technology, thermo-technology, packaging equipment and household appliances. Bosch employs approximately 25,000 associates in more than 70 locations throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with reported sales of $9.5 billion in fiscal 2007. For more information on the company, visit www.boschusa.com.